Jessie Willcox Smith (American, 1863-1935) Rosebuds

Description:

Jessie Willcox Smith (American, 1863-1935)

Rosebuds
Signed "JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH" twice l.l., titled on a presentation plaque.
Watercolor, gouache, and charcoal with fixative on board, 21 x 15 1/4 in. (53.3 x 38.7 cm),framed.
Condition: Board slightly warped, wear and losses to edges, surface grime


Provenance: The present owner's grandmother, Gertrude King Colville, met Jessie Willcox Smith when they were both exhibiting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Smith gave this painting to Colville between 1925 and 1935.


N.B. American painter and illustrator Jessie Willcox Smith was born in Philadelphia in 1863. She studied briefly with Thomas Eakins while at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and then with Howard Pyle at the Drexel Institute of Arts and Sciences. After befriending artists Violet Oakley and Elizabeth Shippen Green, the three artists shared a studio in Philadelphia. In 1902, they relocated their studio to a country inn called 'The Red Rose.' Specializing in affectionate depictions of children, Smith is well-known for her cover illustrations for Good Housekeeping, as well as her book illustrations, such as for R.L. Stevenson's Child's Garden of Verses, and C. Kingley's Water Babies.

Estimate $15,000-25,000

In addition to the condition problems listed above, there are two areas of lifting u.r. Area of pentamenti along the bottom edge (1 1/2 in.). There are also some subtle areas of varnish inconsistencies.

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